With summer completely here there’s nothing nicer than a chilled soup to start a meal or have as a snack.

I was sitting in my allergists waiting room with nothing in particular to do. Usually her magazine rack is filled with sports stuff and gossip magazines – none of which interest me. This week, however, she had a copy of the Food Network Magazine. I was thrilled to see it as I’ve had a “special offer” from them sitting on my “to do” pile for weeks. I wasn’t sure I wanted or needed another food magazine especially since most of the recipes in these publications are not suitable for a paleo diet.

One of the articles featured 3 different gazpacho recipes. I was interested in that article because most of the authentic recipes include plenty of bread. I was delighted to find that these did not. In fact they were very nice and slightly unusual. Two of the recipes included grapes – something that I would never have thought using, but upon reflection seemed an interesting idea. The recipe for green gazpacho also included avocado.

It’s not that often I am inspired to run home and try something I’ve seen in a magazine, but since Fairway is just a few steps away from my allergist’s office, I stopped in and picked up the necessary ingredients and Voila!

I think this is a pretty delicious form of gazpacho. The grapes give it a subtle sweetness and the avocado a really creamy texture. The toasted almonds (I know they don’t look toasted in the photo, but trust me – they are)

BTW I subscribed to the magazine today : )

Enjoy!Green Gazpacho

You can use mint or dill instead of the some or all of the cilantro; if you choose to use mint, I would probably use less. This is a very thick soup. I’ve given you a range of the amount of broth to use in it; just keep adding until it reaches a consistency that makes you happy.

1 cup seedless green grapes

2 cups cucumber chunks (I used Persian cucumbers, unpeeled)

1/2 cup avocado chunks

1/3 cup scallion pieces

6 sprigs cilantro

6 sprigs parsley

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon wine vinegar (preferably white)

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup (or more) vegetable or chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Toasted sliced almonds for garnish

Place the grapes into a blender container; cover and process until liquified.